From the early
1900’s and a manufacturing company in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
(The Allen Manufacturing Company.)

4

C. 1200 from Old
English for brave or later clever/wise. Earlier use in Old Norse for
skilful and wise.
When applied to knives is a peculiarly English word.

5

Meaning “famous
spear” from the German “faire” and “sper”.
Arrived with the Normans and replaced the former Old English cognate
word.

6

Old English,
familiar term for a boy, later used of apprentices, servants, etc.
Also possibly from the Welsh word for red “coch”.
This surname when used with ..comical as an adjective means foppish
or conceited, but this form was discouraged by Johnson as “a low
word unworthy of use”.

7

Meaning “rich
guard” from the Old English elements for wealth/fortune (“ead”) and
guard (“weard”).
Name survived the Norman co0nquest when others were lost and replace
by Norman names due to the popularity of the late King.

8

17th C.
Name for the bishop in chess. The latter (bishop) from Late Latin
and Greek “episkopus” meaning watcher or overseer,
which is probably a good thing in view of this person’s current
post.

9

C. 1300 Old French,
probably from a Frankish frequentive form of “weron” to adorn or
bedeck.
Many forms in Romanic languages such as Old Spanish, French, Italian
and Portuguese.
(Interestingly in the Online Etymology Dictionary it appeared close
to “hooligan”.)

10

From Norman French
meaning a bad town. A famous person with this name had trouble with
whales and whale meet (author of Moby Dick).
Altogether Whale meat again, don’tknow where don’t know when

11

Teams

12

The colour of the
cloth in royal counting houses from late 14th C and to
take up a designated position on a ship, from around 1400.

13

Old English derived
from Norse meaning “King Utto is lost on his way to Exeter”.

14

A liquid measure in
North Sea and Baltic trade in the early 14th C. (8.5
Imperial Gallons).
(Not to be confused with a word from the 1940s referring to male
self abuse.)

15

Circa 1708 - to
trick, outwit or gain advantage, often refers to a young boy, so can
be used in relation to the theft of sandwiches.